Anchor for decoys



Dec. 15. 1925. 1,565,474

R. s. LINK 4 ANCHOR FOR DECOYS Filed Sept. 14. 1925 Patented Dec. 15,1925.

UNITED STATES RAYMOND S. LINK, SYRACUSE, NEVJ YORK.

ANCHOR FOR DECOYS.

Application filed September 14, 1925. Serial No. 56,40.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, RAYMOND S. LINK, acitizen of the United States, residing at Syracuse, in the county ofOnondaga and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Anchors for Decoys, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to improvements in duck decoys, and has for itsobject to provide a novel, simple and highly effective anchor, adaptedfor'attachment to almost every style of decoys, said anchor preferablybeing composed of a single part and made of metal, and being providedwith prongs and hooks for grappling the sand or rock bottom of a lake orstream, as well as to become entangled in the submarine growths, forpreventing drifting of the decoys. And a further object is to provide ananchor of such construction and arrange ment that, when the hunting isconcluded, and the decoys are retrieved, the anchors may be readily andconveniently mounted saddle-like upon the respective decoys and securelybound thereto, by means of the cables that support the anchors.Furthermore, the arrangement of the anchors is such that, when they aremounted upon the backs of the decoys, the latter may be stowed ingunny-sacks or other receptacles, without danger of the hooks, prongs,or other abrading portions of the anchors defacing the painted exteriorsof the decoys, and thus render them unfit for subsequent use unlessrepainted.

I attain these objects by the means set' forth in the detaileddescription which follows, and as illustrated by the accompanyingdrawing, in which Figure 1 is an elevational View of a decoy, partiallysubmerged in water; showing the anchor resting upon the bottom of thebodyof water; also showing the anchor mounted upon the back of the decoyand bound thereto by the cable by which the anchor is supported. Fig. 2is an enlarged top-plan view of one form of the anchor. Fig. 3 is asimilar view of a modified form of the anchor. Fig. 4 is a view of thesame inverted. And Fig. 5..is an enlarged edge view of anothermodification, in which a plain upwardly and rearwardly curved lipsupplants the hooks shown in Figs. 3 and 4. 1n the drawing, 2 representsa decoy that simulates a duck, which may be made of wood, or othersuitable buoyant material. 3 represents a counterweight employed forbalancing-obviating violent bobbing or rocking, as well as capsizing ofthe decoy when the water is choppy and rough. The counterweight usuallycomprises a block of metal, which may be permanently secured to thebottom of the decoy, as by a screw 3. Forwardly of the weight 3, astaple or loop-screw L is driven into or otherwise secured to the bodyof the decoy, to which one end of a flexible cable or chain, as 5, isattached, the other end of the cable being secured to the anchor, as 6,by which the decoy is prevented from drifting, by the action of the windand waves. The anchor 6 may consist of lead, iron, or other heavymaterial, of sufficient weight to suitably hold the decoy, andpreferably comprises an irregular shaped body, which may be providedwith a central opening, at 6, whose inner wall is preferably formed witha lug or knob 6, to which the cable 5 is attached. The lug 6 ispreferably disposed in the line of the longitudinal axis, for suitablybalancing the anchor. One end of the body 6' is preferably formed withsimilar upwardly facing sharp hooks or spurs 6 which are spaced toprovide a recess 0r bay 6 that coincides with the said axis the saidhooks preferably inclining rearwardly and being adapted,

when the anchor is inverted, as shown in Fig. 4:, to grapple the bottom,as :0, of the lake or stream, for preventing dragging of the anchor andconsequent drifting of the decoy. The opposite end of the body 6 ispreferably forked for providing similar relatively sharp prongs orgrapples 6, which are adapted ,to become embedded in the earthy bottom00, grapple rocks, or become entangled in submarine growths, such asgrass, weeds, and the like, for holding the decoy in the desiredposition on the surface of the water; The lateral margins 6? of the body6 are preferably relatively sharp or bay being designed primarily toconform to and receive the curved back portion of the neck 2, when theanchor is mounted saddlelike on the back of the decoy, as shown inFig. 1. By this construction and arrangement of the anchor, the rearwardbulge 2 of the head of the decoy substantially overhangs the forward endof the anchor, in cluding the hooks G", and prevents said hooks fromabrading or marring the other decoys during transportation and storage.In order'to readily and .:onveniently secure the anchor 6 in the idleposition, as explained, when the anchor is withdrawn from the water, thehunter places it upon the back of the decoy, as shown in Fig. 1. Thisaction effects the folding of the able or cord 5 upon itself, asindicated at 5. He next winds the double strands of the cable tightlyaround the decoy and anchor, as shown at 5, after which the free end ofhe folded cable may be tucked between the anchor and decoy, as shown at5. By this novel disposition and arrangement, each decoy and its anchormay be reduced to a neat and compact bundle, which may be handled as onepart, and ob viates all danger of the cable becoming entangled whilebeing carried to and from the hunting grounds.

The anchor shown in Figs. 3 and t comprises a solid body 8, which isformed at one end with a similar yoke or bay 8, that lies between spacedhooks 8*, that straddle the neck 2 of the decoy. The opposite end of thebody 8 is tapered, and terminates in a relatively sharp point 8", havingthe same function as the spurs or prongs 6. The medial back portion ofthe body 8 is formed with a transverse opening 8 for facilitating theattachment of the cable. The lat-- cral margins 8 of the body 8 are alsopreferably sharp like the margins 6 In Fig. 5, the body 9 generallyfollows the construction of the anchor 8, except that instead of thespaced hooks 8, the forward end of the body is formed with a broadrearwardly curved lip 9, whose free edge 9 is sharp, and tends to biteinto the bottom of the lake, in case the anchor becomes inverted, asshown in Fig. 4-.

Obviously various other means may be employed for securing the anchor tothe back of the decoy, and other modifications may also be made withoutdeparting from the invention defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, is

1. The combination with a decoy and an anchor cable secured thereto, ofan anchor supported by the cable comprising an arched body havingdiverging prongs at one end and having grappling hooks at its oppositeend adapted to prevent dragging of the anchor longitudinally, said hooksbeing arranged to form a yoke adapted to straddle the neck of the decoywhen the anchor and decoy are prepared for transportation or storage,and means for preventing dragging of the anchor laterally.

2. An anchor for decoys comprising an arched body having sharp lateralmargins and having one 'end formed with diverging prongs for preventingdragging of the anchor when the latter is normally resting on the bottomof a lake or stream, and the opposite end of said body being formed withsarp spurs that overhang the body adapted to prevent dragging of theanchor when the latter is inverted.

3. The combination with a decoy and a cable secured thereto, of ananchor supported by the cable comprising a body having at one end anupwardly and inwardly curved grappling portion, said body beyond saidportion being open and beyond said opening said body being formed withdiverging prongs adapted to sink into the bottom of a lake, and meansfor interlocking said body with the neck of the decoy for facilitatinghandling and storing of the decoy and anchor as one part.

t. The c'on'ibination with a decoy and a cable secured thereto, of ananchor supported by the cable and having spaced grappling portions atits opposite ends for preventing dragging of theanchor longitudinally,the space between the grappling portions at one end of the anchorcomprising a recess adapted to lit the neck when the an chor is mountedupon the back of the decoy, and the lateral margins of the anchor beingsharply feathered for preventing dragging of the anchor laterally.

5. The combination with a decoy and a cable secured thereto, of meansfor anchoring the decoy supported by the cable, comp *ising a bodyadapted to be mounted upon the back of the decoy when the latter isremoved from the water, one end of the body comprising a yoke adapted tostraddle the .neck of the decoy, the bottom of said, body being archedfor conforming to the contour of the back of the decoy, and said bodyadapted to be held in close contact with the decoy by the winding of theslack of the cable around the decoy and said body.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

RAYMOND S. LINK.

